Daycare May Prevent Delinquency

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As the nation faces policy challenges over juvenile delinquency and subsequent crime, one all-but-forgotten option remains as promising as ever despite its virtual absence in recent national discussions and debates: a comprehensive daycare and after-school care policy. New research from David R. Katner at Tulane University School of Law shows early intervention programs help reduce risk factors that contribute to delinquent behavior and later adult offending, while after-school programs create activities for juveniles during the time period when many delinquent acts occur. Read the full study here

They Call Me "Sirr"

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He was all but abandoned by his parents and raised in poverty by his grandparents, gang-involved cousins and other relatives in South Los Angeles.  But Sirr Parker persevered against terrible odds, and flourished as a nearly straight-A student.  And his record on the high school football team earned him a football scholarship to Texas A&M. The movie inspired by his improbable story, "They Call Me Sirr," made its broadcast debut in 2001, six years after the former homecoming king graduated from Locke High School. How about this for a sequel: Parker, a college graduate, makes good on a high school vow to return to his roots to mentor at-risk kids facing the same type of hurdles?  It's playing out in real life at Los Padrinos Juvenile Detention Center in Downey, a kind of way station for youths in trouble where Parker works as a detention service officer. Sirr Parker shares his childhood and his lifelong dream of helping other children with the Los Angeles Times

Sexting Laws: Are They Too Tough on Teens?

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Two 14-year olds at the exclusive Lovett School in Buckhead are under investigation in a sexting scandal, as lawmakers in Georgia and across the country debate exactly how to punish children for a crime they may not understand.